Shadow Dance
by Jenn0509
Summary: Twilight crossover. In the wake of her grandmother's death, Haley knows that someone is after her. She moves to Forks and quickly becomes Renesmee's friend. Haley's darker, unknown, mysterious side can save the Cullen's, or sentence them all to death. R
1. Change

Hello to all of you FanFiction adventurers! I'm just trying my hand at a crossover. This crossover will be between Twilight (Seriously, was there any doubt?) and a series refered to as the "Heir" series by Cinda Williams Chima. Not really sure what to post this under, but I figured that in the Twilight section it would fit pretty well.

The setting will be in Forks and this is set about four years after Breaking Dawn. Nessie will look about ten.

I would really like to see what everyone thinks about this before I continue posting, so reviews are very much welcome. Favoriting and Alerts are also welcome, but certainly not expected on the first chapter.

I'm glad that you all are joining me on this new path. If you would like, I invite you to check out me three other fanfics. They are all strictly Twilight.

I love reviews, especially when a story is on it's first legs. Reviews solidify my will to write and the first to review gets a cookie!!!

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My eyes clouded with tears as I said good bye to the one person who had really cared for me my entire life, "Oh, grandma, why? Why did you have to leave me?" A stranger's arm wrapped around me.

"Poor girl, I'm so sorry. Mrs. Whipple was a good woman. You're a good girl." The woman pet my arm gently and briskly kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I almost couldn't cry anymore. I'd cried through the entire meeting with the mortuary and even when the coroner had told me that my grandmother was dead.

I wasn't really sure whom I was crying for anymore. Was my grief for my grandmother, the woman who had raised me, or myself, the girl who would disappear in a matter of hours?

People were mulling around me, saying meaningless things like, "So sorry for your loss", and "Sorry miss. Shouldn't have happened like that." Their words were hollow with no real emotion behind them. They didn't understand. No one would. Just like no one would understand what I had to do.

Not many of them knew my name and the ones that did were from home, "Haley?" The voice sounded like bells. I was unnerving. I lifted my nose from my damp tissue at the voice that I didn't recognize. My blood ran cold.

She had to be one of those damned things that were always following me. She was too perfect and tiny. Her dark hair was pinned back, but I could tell that it was normally spiked. Her eyes were gold, but the color seemed to swirl, darker, lighter, and back again. The suit she was wearing was black and only served to illustrate her already ice pale complexion in even greater detail. All in all, she looked like a rebel child that someone had tamed and stuffed in a suit. She was smiling kindly at me with a mournful expression in her strange eyes. "Haley, right?"

I nodded, weary of the girl, "Yes, I'm Haley Thomas. What do you want?" My words were harsher than I had intended, but they expressed my feelings of frustration.

The girl looked a little hurt, "I'm just here to tell you that I'm sorry for your loss."

My mouth formed an "O" shape, "Um…thanks." She looked at me expectantly.

I looked around for an escape route. There was none and the remaining people were trickling out of the funeral home. I was on my own. I looked back at her. "What happened? To your grandmother, I mean."

"I'm sorry, now's not really a good time. I did just bury my grandmother. I'm not in the mood to talk about her murder." I turned and started to walk away hoping she would leave. "Damned pixie girl."

I glanced back at her. She was looking at me with her head tilted in an odd angle like she had heard me.

"Haley! Oh gosh! I missed it didn't I. Good God. I just can't be anywhere on time. Wow, I missed a funeral. How pathetic is that?"

I wanted to cry in relief, "Cass, it's okay. Um, I was just about to leave. It's been a hard day. I was going to go home and get some sleep." I scratched my head, trying to figure out the words I wanted to use, "Um…Cass, can you just call me tomorrow." My ditsy little blond friend who was late for everything had just unknowingly saved me from my nightmare.

Cass blinked a couple times, "Uh… sure." She looked distraught suddenly, "Oh, Hales your angry. I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry with me. I really wanted to be here, but…you know…I'm just always late…" she looked away bashfully, "for everything."

I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to the door, "I'm not angry. It's just been a long day. I'm tired." I looked back to where I had left the fairy girl and sighed, she was gone.

Cass nodded and walked with me to my car in silence, "Hales, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to forget, I just always do."

I hugged her, "I understand, Cass. Listen, I need you to promise me something." She nodded, "I'm leaving New York. I have to get out. I'll miss you. I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone where I'm going."

I'd lost her. She looked clueless, "Where are you going?"

I wanted to slap my hand to my forehead, "I'm going to Seattle. Please, you can't tell anyone. I'm not even sure why I'm telling you in the first place."

She had a strange look on her face and for a minute, I didn't think that she understood what I was saying, "Oh. Okay. I can do that." I smiled at my friend and pushed her in the direction of her beat up Volkswagen. She turned to look at me over her shoulder, "Bye, Hales. I'll miss you." I was relieved as I watched her drive off. She was safe.

If I left her and the others I cared about, the fairies couldn't hurt anyone else that I loved. My grandmother was dead because of them, I was sure.

Cass was the only friend I had left; all of the others were dead. My grandmother was the latest in a long line of deaths that seemed to be centered on me. They could mess in our lives as much as they wanted to, but if one of us bothered them than some sort of line had been crossed. Imminent death was ensured, but I wouldn't be like that. I wasn't just another of their human toys that they could screw with and dispose of. I had been disposed already. I wasn't going to let it happen again.

"Goodbye." I said to no one. Those words had so little meaning, but the feelings behind them were suffocating me. I was about to fly across the country to escape whatever being I had managed to piss off. Not only was I leaving with a crazy agenda, but also I was leaving behind the only place I'd ever known. I was leaving behind my life, the very core of my existence. Haley Todd had to disappear. I walked back to my car and drove to my little house next door to my childhood home. The home that until three days ago had contained all of my most precious memories and the woman I loved more than myself.

Taking a deep breath I grabbed the metal tube that had been metaphorically burning a hole in the passenger seat of my car all morning. I swung the door open. It's squeak made me smile. That would be the last time that I would curse at the shrill noise. I opened my front door and let my dog out of his crate. Just like every other day, I tossed my phone and keys into the wicker basket on the table next to my door. All of these movements I relished. They had been so perpetual in my daily life that the thought of leaving them was almost heart breaking.

Unconsciously, I was making a list in my mind of all the things that Haley Thomas would never do again. Internally, my soul was screaming at me. Why was I doing this? Why did Haley Thomas have to die? Why: the word made my blood boil. Everything I was doing and everything I would do was for the ones I loved. I would give it all up for them.

My dog, Shadow, could tell something was wrong with me. I looked at him sadly. I snatched up a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans from my coffee table as well as a bag of dog food and shoved them in my backpack. I hooked a leather leash into Shadow's choke chain and walked with him to stand on the sidewalk between the two homes that I had spent most of my life in.

I took a deep breath and tossed the canister at the grass in between the houses. Upon impact, it exploded in a spectacular array of yellow and blue flames. The materials I had put into the canister ignited when the air pressure changed due to the trauma to the exterior of the canister.

I stared at the flames in wonder and shock. I had never done anything like this before and now I was the girl who blew up her own homes. It shocked me. Shadow nudged my hand and I looked down into his dark eyes. He wanted to leave and secretly, I did to, but once I left, I could never return. I could see the headline now: High school junior, Haley Brie Thomas dies in tragic natural gas explosion at her suburban New York City home.

I knew that they would declare Haley dead. My keys and wallet were in the front of my house where the fire would burn the coolest and my car was sitting out front. They would assume by those items that I was in my house and the fire would burn too hot for them to be able to find a body.

I started to walk down the sidewalk, but when I looked back at Shadow, he was staring at the flames as they danced across the roof of our houses. Gently, I tugged on his chain and he looked at me questioningly, "Come on, Shadow, we need to get going." He looked at me with sadness in his endlessly dark eyes, "I'm sorry, Shadow." He seemed to understand and walked to my side, "Good boy. Let's go."

I walked down the street to the bus stop. I had timed everything perfectly. Twenty seconds after I reached the bus stop the bus arrived. I boarded and the driver glared at me, "You have a dog?"

I glared at the fat man and looked down at Shadow, "Yeah, but he won't do anything. I'll even buy a ticket for him if it would make you feel better." I held eye contact with the man for a moment, mentally willing him to let me on.

The man nodded after a brief sigh, "I'll let the mutt on for free." I smiled and we exchanged cash for my ticket.

Shadow sat down in the seat next to mine and curled his head into my lap. Several hours later, we made it within walking distance of a New Jersey airport. I found the nearest pet store and bought a dog crate and a clip on water bowl. They wouldn't let me put Shadow on a plane loose. I might have gotten away with it on the bus, but airports were way more secure and taking a full-grown Doberman on a plane wouldn't work out. As much as it pained me, my companion would soon be checked and I would be alone for several hours. As I paid for my items, I glanced down at my credit card. It said Kara Johnson. It was official. I wasn't Haley Thomas anymore.

I smiled at the old man who was seated next to me on the plane and he fell asleep almost as soon as we were off the ground. Mostly I just slept, but one time I woke up and found that the old man's head had rolled onto my shoulder. He was drooling. I pushed his head away and rapidly wiped off the shoulder of my denim jacket. I would have to wash it as soon as I could.

When the plane finally landed I was exasperated, the old man couldn't seem to keep his drool away from me. It was nasty, to say the least. I got off as soon as my row was allowed to. I didn't have much so I hadn't checked anything but Shadow. I went to claim him and get out of there. There were too many people around me.

For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to be alone. It was such a strange feeling. I had never been exceptionally social, but I had been out going and as far as I could tell, nobody had ever disliked me enough for me to hate being around them. I couldn't stand these feelings, but I obeyed them.

In minutes, Shadow was sitting in the front passenger seat of my rental car. I shifted the truck into cruise and allowed myself to look out the window. I really hadn't noticed the scenery until now. It was funny, my brain was telling me it should be dark, but it was bright outside, the sun just past the noon height. Everything was green and the sun appeared to be surrounded on all sides by thick clouds.

This was my new life. High school junior Kara Lynn Johnson would start school in a little town near Seattle and no one would know that she had committed a crime of any sort. She would be the little girl that no one yet everyone knew. A new start was what I needed. Maybe I could even have friends. No, not really. Maybe I could have passing acquaintances, but not real friends. I couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of me. I wouldn't let anyone else get hurt. I wasn't sure what I would do, but no one else would get hurt.

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Thanks for reading this first chapter of Shadow Dance!

I know it's not great, but the story will pick up and in chapter two, we will be in Forks with Edward, Bella and the rest of the Cullen's. Yeah!!!

Luv Ya'll,

-Jenn

P.S. Please Review!!!!!!


	2. Desperation

Hey Guys,

There are a few things that need to be said before the chapter.

First: Thanks so much to f_abulouslycrushed_ for reviewing. It meant a lot to me. You get a cookie for first review!

Second: I know I said at the start of the first chapter that Renesmee would look ten, but I decided to go ahead and have her be in highschool. Sorry! I hope none of you mind. :)

Thirdly: Chapter three will be put up tonight if you all review! I would love to post it, but I need reviews.

Alright, I'm done with my notes. Hope you enjoy chapter two of Shadow Dance.

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Dance 2

Edward Cullen

When I walked into the lunchroom on Monday, I was nearly overcome with the thoughts of the other students. It was just like Bella's first day at school all over again. Everyone's minds were a buzz with thoughts of a new girl named Kara Johnson. I heard her name echoing in the thoughts of nearly half the student body. I located the girl easily. She was fair skinned and was smiling at her newly formed groupies. Her eyes were blue and her hair was strange, even paired against the styles I had seen Alice with. The top half of it was black and the bottom three inches were dyed blond. The girl had managed to stagger the dye so that it didn't look too garish, but rather made her look rebellious.

Unlike human Bella, I could hear the buzz of her thoughts and also she was managing her crowd with much more tact than Bella had. She denied their attempt to get her attention without actually managing to hurt them or to give them the wrong impression. It was much like watching Alice, Rosalie and vampire Bella on the first day of school.

The girl talked with a red headed girl named Samantha for a moment and glanced at my family. Samantha was telling her, no, warning her about us. I didn't like the look in her impossibly crystalline blue eyes as she turned away from us. It looked like she was challenging us. Begging us to confront her.

A few minutes later and she turned to us. As she strode forward, her groupies dissipated. They were afraid of us. She stopped a few steps from the only empty seat at our table, "Hi, I'm Kara. You must be the Cullen's. The other's say that you guys never socialize. You guys look like you can handle a little bug sitting at your table. I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone and it appears that my presence has stirred up the bugs. Promise I'll mind my own business."

Her eyes flitted to each of our faces in turn and landed on Alice. Her eyes widened in recognition, _'The pixie girl?' _The question came to me from her thoughts. She recognized Alice, which was strange because Alice didn't seem to recognize her. Alice seemed happy with the girl's forward attitude and motioned to the spot next to Nessie. My poor little Nessie looked so vulnerable. It was her first year of high school and she was tiny compared to most of the other kids. She had stopped aging last year, and much to Bella's discomfort, she was only an inch and a half taller than her mother. Bells had hoped she'd be closer to my height, but Nessie was perfect either way.

The girl pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She started mumbling to herself and I didn't bother to decipher what she was saying. She clearly wasn't joking about not being any trouble. It wasn't until her thoughts went back to Alice that I paid attention, _'I must be going crazy. I mean surely there're other girls that are freaky tiny with spiked hair and a personality that leads them to randomly show up at funerals and ask the grieving family how their relative died before going back to a little nothing town in Washington. Hah, not likely Haley. Not likely at all.'_

Wasn't her name supposed to be Kara? The story I had gathered was that she was from Maine and liked the rain so when her guardian died, she came to a place with a similar climate. "Hey, Alice, doesn't something about Kara seem familiar?"

Alice studied her for a moment and I saw a little light bulb seem to come on above her head, "Nah, I think you're crazy, Ed." _'I'll tell you later. You're not going to believe it.' _She smiled at me and Kara shifted uncomfortably and shoved her pencil behind her ear.

Finally, she started to talk to Nessie. They seemed to find that they had a lot in common. Well, except for the vampire part. Despite my confusion with her thoughts, I was glad that Nessie had found someone to talk to. She had been in school with us for two months and she hadn't really tried to make friends. She seemed content to talk with us and Jacob, but I know that it bothered Bella.

I tried to convince myself that nothing was off about Renesmee's new friend. I really did try. The lunch hour dragged on even longer than usual. I almost couldn't stand it. As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed Alice and Bella and headed to the doors.

When we were out of human earshot I turned to Alice, "Do you know her?"

She nodded, "Yeah, do you remember last week when Jazz and I went hunting alone?"

"I didn't really think that you'd gone hunting." Bella said with a slight smirk. I rolled my eyes at my mate. "What?" She held up her hands defensively and I realized that Alice had rolled her eyes too.

Alice just smiled and shook her head, "Thank you Bella. Anyway, I had a vision I wanted to check out and I took Jazz with me to New York. My vision was of Kara Johnson, well really Haley Thomas, being captured by the Volturi and killed in New York."

"You sure it's the same girl?"

Alice nodded, "I didn't recognize her at first. Her hair was blonde. I guess she's letting it grow out. I found her at her grandmother's funeral. Wonder why she changed her name?"

I growled softly, "I don't like it. Have you seen anything else?"

Alice shook her head, "No, just the little bit with the Volturi. Edward, really, is it so terrible that after her grandmother dies she wants to get away? Changing her name isn't a crime. Don't worry so much. You make Jazz nervous."

I rolled my eyes again, "I'm sorry my broodiness bothers you. I'll try to tone it down."

"Excellent!" Alice chirped before she skipped back to Jazz who was waiting for her in the north hallway. Her mood ticked me off. Why was she always so damn happy?

Bella wrapped her arms around my waist and I hugged her to my body, "Edward, it's alright. Renesmee can take care of herself. The girl is only a human."

I growled and looked into her chocolate brown eyes, "Bells, we know what even the clumsiest human can do." If she had still been human, my Bella would have been blushing. It was on of the few things that I missed. Seeing Bella blush had been a luxury that I hadn't quite treasured closely enough. Not that I regretted turning her like I thought I would, quite the opposite though, I loved the fact that she wasn't so fragile. I had hated not being able to love her like she wanted me to without hurting her. Now I could concentrate on keeping Nessie out of trouble.

Ah, Nessie. She was everything to Bella and I. It was strange to look at the teenaged looking girl and know that she was only actually six. She was sassy, a lot more than I recall Bella being. She didn't get it from me.

Bella nuzzled my neck, trying to relieve the tension I was putting on my body, "Edward, please, Nessie's having a good time. All of the other kids are too scared of us to speak to her. She deserves to have a friend."

"She has Jacob." I grumbled.

Bella elbowed me in the ribs, "Edward, I mean it! Leave the girl alone and lay off of Jacob!" I glared at her, "Edward Mason Cullen! Stop looking at me like I'm protecting a pedophile!"

"He might as well be." I mumbled as I lead Bella to our next classes. She and Jacob had gotten over their fondly termed 'Nessie Issues' and were once again best friends. Jacob's favorite thing was to remind me of that fact. I spent the next hour listening to her sing Jacob's praise.

I might have come to terms with the fact that Jacob would one day be my son-in-law, but I still had problems with him around Nessie. Since our run in with the Volturi, Jacob's ego had taken a nice hike. I really wondered of there was anyway I could make him hike his act straight to hell. Not that I could really let that happen, Nessie and Bella would kill me for it. So as much as I disliked the wolf, I had to tolerate him.

Happy Day.

I was sitting in the back of my English classroom before the bell rang for sixth period when a voice pulled me from my thoughts, "Excuse me. Is this seat taken?"

I shook my head mutely and kept my eyes to the desk in front of me. Her scent hit me and I looked at the new girl, "You?"

She sneered at me, "Yeah, Cullen, you got a problem with that?" I growled. She glared at me and slammed her book bag on the desk, "Don't get your panties in a wad. I won't bite." She looked at me through her black eyelashes, "I have a feeling you might though."

I gagged, "What?"

She looked concerned by my outburst, apologetic even, "I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to be so snippy."

"It's okay."

She grinned, "Thanks, you've been the nicest to me so far."

I looked at her incredulously, "Really?" She nodded, "I'm not so sure, everyone seems to be pretty eager to be your friend."

She rolled her eyes, "I know. None of them mean it though. I'm just the newest flavor of ice cream that everyone wants to try. It's relieving to talk to someone that doesn't like me."

"So you think I'm nice because I don't like you."

She nodded and laughed, "My grandmother used to say that the most honest people make the best friends. Your sister, Renesmee, seems really honest. She also looks lonely. I've been trying to figure you Cullen's out. I've talked to people about you all and they say that you're some elite group of gods with incest like tendencies. You never go out in the sun and get food that you never eat. I want to know if you've been truly honest with yourselves."

I didn't like where our conversation had suddenly headed, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

She angled herself so that the teacher couldn't see her talking, "I want to know why your sister was at my grandmother's funeral."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She angled her body even further away from the front of the classroom, "It's alright, Edward. You can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

I felt a tug in my mind. It was much like how it felt when Jasper was playing with my emotions. I gritted my teeth, "What are you doing?"

In an instant, my mind cleared and she looked confused. _'No! It happened again! Damn it'_ She grabbed her books and shoved them in her bag. I saw tear run down her cheek before she turned and ran out the door.

"Ms. Johnson! Class just started! Come back! Ms. Johnson." Our teacher's cries seemed to be useless. I didn't see the girl for seventh period.

After school, I met up with Alice. She had called me five minutes to the end of class with her mind, "What's wrong Alice?"

I hadn't seen Alice look so flustered in a long time, "Where did Kara go?"

"I don't know. Something made her upset in the beginning of sixth period and she left. Why?"

"I had another vision. We need to find her. She's going to be attacked by a vampire." She noticed the look on my face and gave me a half smile, "It's not the Volturi, but we need to get the others." I nodded in agreement and we both jogged in opposite directions.

Within five minutes we were all standing back at my Volvo. Nessie was worried and that made everyone on edge, "Alice where was she?"

"In the woods. I think I remember it from the last time we went hunting after school." She started running and Bella and I shared a look before running after her and the others.

It only took three minutes to hear the screams and another forty-five seconds to come into a clearing.

It was Kara. The vampire had pinned her to the ground and was pushing her shirt up.

She screamed and reached to shove his hands away. Before any of us could move, the vampire jumped away from the human and curled up against a tree.

Nessie ran to her new friend. The rest of us circled the vampire. We all knew what to do. Alice had circled around behind the vampire and Emmett had pulled his lighter from his pocket, but suddenly, the whining vampire burst into flames. None of us had touched him.

A strangled gurgle came from Kara, "Are you going to kill me too?" She wailed. We all turned to look at her in astonishment, "Was my grandmother not enough? Why do you keep torturing my like this? Just kill me already! Please. I can't take this anymore. Get it over with. Please!"

With no warning, a dog rocketed into the clearing, skidding to a stop in front of the human. I took a breath; the dog smelled like the Wolves. He was a shape shifter. The shifter was a Doberman. The human looked at him incredulously, "Shadow?" The dog-man nuzzled her hand and growled at Nessie. Nessie jumped back. The girl looked scared of the animal, "How did you get here?" She looked past us at the burning vampire and then at her hands, "What have I done?" The shifter nudged her hands and curled up into her lap. She looked back up and froze, "What are you all?"

The sun had come out from behind the clouds and for a brief moment, all of the vampires were shining, even Nessie. Emmett emitted a rumble that must have been a laugh and looked down at the girl, "Vampires."

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I love Emmett!

Sorry 'bout that. I tent to get a little carried away.

Review! Feel free to ask questions. I'm combining two worlds, I don't expect that most of you will know both of them. I will answer your questions in either the next chapter or in a PM.

Thanks for reading!

-Jenn


	3. Golden Storm, Black Fire

Hey Guys!

This is where the story gets a little confusing for you only Twilight people! I'll put a link up to the Heir series website so you can get some answers. If you can't find what you're looking for than just PM me. This chapter has two strange things in it:

First- It's about sixteen years in the past

&

Second- It's in third person.

I hope no one gets too confused and I'm really really sorry if you do.

This is a little bit smaller than the last chapters, but it gives some background into Haley's past.

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Dance 3

Third Person

The golden haired teen rolled over in her sleep, "Kara!" The voice said again.

She groaned and opened one eye blearily, "Five more minutes, mom?"

The older woman growled angrily, "Kara, your baby is crying. I may be letting you stay here, but I refuse to take care of her. It's not my fault you ran off to England and got yourself pregnant. You made this mess, you have to live with it."

Kara curled a lip at her mother, "I didn't do anything wrong."

Levi 'Sake' Whipple jerked her daughter up by her arm, "Kara, I love you, but I don't understand why you don't see anything wrong with this. It takes two to tango."

Kara pushed her comforter back and stalked past her mother. She stormed down the hall and into her mother's spare bedroom. She picked up the baby that was squalling in the crib, "Shh…It'll be alright, little one."

She rocked her baby in her arms, but the infant only cried louder. Levi sighed, "Kara, does she need a diaper change? Food? You need to check before you go about trying to quiet down."

The girl looked at her helplessly, "Mom, I don't know what to do! I've never been around babies before. Please, help me."

Her mother leaned forward and took the baby from her daughter, placing her on Kara's old changing table, "Kara, checking a diaper is not rocket science." Levi proceeded to unbutton the pink newborn jumper that her daughter had managed to find. Levi's eyes widened, "What is this Kara? What happened to her?"

A red and puffy incision was noticeable against the infant's pale pink skin. The girl stuttered, "S…S…She was sick. She wasn't breathing right and the doctor took her. I asked what happened when they brought her back and they said the doctor had to do surgery. Something about her heart."

"Kara, it's important. What was the doctors name, the one that did the surgery?"

"Um…"

"Now girl!"

"Longbranch. Dr. Longbranch. I'm sure of it. She was way too interested in my baby to just be a surgeon so as soon as I was released, I came home. She scared me."

Levi sighed and busied her hands with changing her granddaughter's diaper. Kara just continued to stare at her mother as if she hadn't been release by her yet, "I'm glad you did." Levi smiled, trying to brighten the mood, "Well, Kara, you come in after ten, put your daughter in your old nursery turned spare room and pass out in your old room and fail to tell me the name of my new granddaughter."

Kara smiled, "Haley Brie Thomas. I'm not quiet sure where it came from, but I thought it was pretty. I forgot to ask, where's dad?"

"At work. He's on the night shift at the hospital now. You came in not twenty minutes after he left. I haven't told him anything yet. I'll let you cross that bridge on your own."

Kara's eyes widened, "You didn't tell him about Haley? Mom, he'll strangle me!"

Levi shook her head, "I told you that you were on your own for the most part. That includes telling your father what you did when you went to London." A tense silence hung between mother and daughter seeing as the infant had fallen asleep in her grand mother's arms. "Actually, Kara, I'm quiet interested myself as to what happened."

Kara sighed and brushed a blond hair out of her face, "I'm not sure. I mean, I met this guy at a club and then I remember waking up the next morning naked in my hotel room. A month later, I was buying a pregnancy test. I really was taking care of myself. I made sure when I got there that I had a job, doctor and a car if I needed it. This month, I would have enough money to rent a flat, but when I saw what had happened to Haley, I just couldn't stay. It didn't feel safe."

Levi nodded understandingly, "Your father will be more understanding then I am. I'm sure." She kissed the top of her daughter's head and put her granddaughter back in her crib, "Get some sleep. I'll get her the next time she wakes up."

Kara looked at her mother incredulously, "Really?"

Levi nodded, "All in all, I think you did the right things. I just wish that it had come about differently. I'll talk to your father and smooth things over before you get up."

Kara nodded and headed back to her bedroom. Levi looked down at her grandchild. The baby slept peacefully. She was a beautiful baby. In fact she looked perfect except for the red gash. Levi would have to redo the stitches and put a healing balm on it so that it wouldn't get infected. She took up her post in the rocking chair that was located in the hall.

Almost an hour before the sun was to rise, Levi woke to a gentle hand on her cheek, "Lev? Lev. Levi! Why are you out in the hall, love?"

Groggily, she muttered, "Kara."

Her husband shook her shoulder gently, "What? Is Kara back?"

Levi blinked her eyes clear, "Yes, she came back not twenty minutes after you left for work."

His blue eyes filled with worry, "Why didn't you call me? I would have come straight home."

Levi sighed, "It wasn't an issue until I realized that she came home with something extra." Levi opened the door to the spare bedroom. Gerard gasped and looked at the sleeping infant. He started to speak, but Levi held up a finger, "That's not all." She unsnapped the front of the baby's jumper and Gerard gasped in outrage, "Jessamine Longbranch." She said as an explanation. He understood.

Gerard growled, "Is this Kara's child?" Levi nodded grimly, "Does Kara know what that woman did to the child?"

"Haley." Levi amended, "No, she seemed scared. She says that she didn't give Jessamine permission to do anything to Haley."

Gerard snorted, "That woman never asks for permission. Never has and likely never will."

Levi huffed, "She's your cousin."

Gerard snarled at her and his blond hair fell into his eyes, "Don't remind me." He touched the wound gently, "Do you know what she did?"

Levi rolled her eyes, "Gerard, do I look like a wizard to you?"

He grinned, emphasizing the wrinkles that were beginning to appear around his eyes, "No, but you do happen to be the most beautiful sorceress I've ever seen."

Levi grinned back, "I'll bet you say that to all of the weir women."

Gerard shook his head, "Only to the pretty ones." I glanced back at his granddaughter's wound, "I don't think I'll be able to heal this very well. It might be best to just let it heal on it's own."

"I wouldn't let you heal it anyway. I'll use some herbs on it. It's safer. Your kind of magic messes up too easily." She turned away from their grandchild, "Ger, I'm not sure how well Kara is going to be able to handle all of this. We have to tell her. Jessamine wouldn't have had anything to do with Haley if she didn't have a stone. I wouldn't be right to keep Kara in the dark."

Gerard nodded and hugged his wife, tucking her head under his chin, "What are we going to do about a Weirbook for Haley?"

His shirt muffled Levi's voice, but he understood her, "I'll make it. Kara won't know how for a while yet." She sighed, "It's hard to believe that Kara's only eighteen."

Gerard squeezed her shoulders, "What do you think our little grandchild will be?"

Levi touched her chin thoughtfully, "I'm not sure. Perhaps she will be an enchantress like her mother. I hope that she will be a wizard like you. Lord knows that your guild could use more females." He recalled the first time he had met Levi. He had been a teenager and the young sorceress had come to his family's home with her sorcerer parents for a meeting of the guilds. It had been something like love at first sight.

Alas, his parents loathed the thought of their perfect wizard son in love with an anawizard weir. He had taken their scorn, though, and as soon as he turned twenty, taken Levi from her home in the middle of the night and runaway to America, leaving his small inheritance behind. As Levi and himself advanced in years it brought him back to the fact that she would die long before he even felt the weight of his years. In some ways he wondered if his parents had been right to tell him to leave Levi. He could only hurt her in the end.

Gerard kissed his wife on the head at the thought, trying to purge it from his mind, "I hope that she's is exactly what she's meant to be."

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Levi is pronounced like Levi jeans just incase anyone wondered.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks!

-Jenn


	4. Equality

OMG!!!!!!!! I've had this chapter done since Saturday and I guess FF was having some issues and I couldn't log in! It was terrible! I feel bad now! Please Please Please! Use my link on my profile if you're confused. I would actually go there now if you have never read the Heir series. There is **NO** Cullen action in this chapter. I'm so sorry!

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Dance 4

Ellen Stephenson

My thigh was cramping. I blinked to clear my eyes and I pushed my foot against the wall to stretch my thigh out. I took a deep breath and smiled. The room smelled like Jack. Sometimes I felt like I was Shakespeare's Juliet. My only love had sprung from my only hate. I was just about to nod back off when the front door slammed open.

As always, Linda arrived with a bang. "Ellen?" She yelled from down stairs as the door slammed behind her. "Ellen!" She shrieked again. I grabbed my sword. Her voice told me that something had her in a panic. I jumped off Jack's bed where I had been rereading my weirbook for the umpteenth time and ran down the stairs. She looked just as frazzled as she sounded, "Where are Hastings and Jack? I need Lee."

I stumbled over my words in my urgency to tell the enchantress what she needed to know, "Jack and Leander are in the clearing with Seph. You really shouldn't go up there. They're doing wizard stuff." Well Seph and Leander were, Jack was probably sitting in a corner and moping at what he couldn't manage to do, but the real wizards could. Just the though of someone touching him with malign intent made me want to kick someone, preferably Jessamine Longbranch.

Linda shook her head in frustration and headed back to the door. I followed her out the door, "No, I need Lee now!"

"What happened?" I asked as she jumped into her current car. I followed suit.

She took off with more speed than I'd seen her use with a kid in the car since we found Seph, the son that she and the wizard Leander Hastings shared, "I found a member of the trade and went to his house. He had an enchantress locked in his house. He's been keeping her as some sort of pet. She had a collar and when I escaped with her something happened. I think there were drugs in the collar that were release into her system when she left the perimeter. She's in pretty bad shape."

She motioned to the back of the truck and for the first time, I noticed the woman writhing in pain on the back seat. The woman's eyes were pinched shut as she fought off the pain I assumed she was in. She kept making little whining noises and curled up on herself. "She's getting worse." Linda noted.

We pulled to a stop at the base of the hill, which had sparks coming from it. "Do you want me to get her?" I asked Linda. She nodded and I jumped out of the car and swung the door open to the back seat. It was strange to carry someone that was larger than I was. I carried her bridal style as she jerked in my arms.

By the time I was half way up the hill, Hastings was on his way down with Linda. The little voice in the back of my mind whispered to me about how funny it was that Linda was unscathed. If I had interrupted them, Jack would have knocked me down and had me on my back yelling at me while asking if I was okay. He really was an egotistical freak of nature.

I spoke too soon, "Ellen!" Jack was on me like a leech, "What happened? Are you okay?"

This was where my imagination was wrong. I would NOT let that boy get me with my back to the ground. I hit him upside the head with the back of my hand, "Jack! I'm fine. I just came to help Linda. Maybe you should listen to your aunt once in a while!"

Jack blushed in embarrassment and I patted him on the cheek. Hastings had pulled the woman from the back of the car and had laid her out on a blanket I had no doubt that he had conjured. Now that she was streched out, i flinched in sympathy, the woman was sickly skinny, "Linda, do you have a bottle of water?"

Before she could reply, the woman's eyes shot open, "Haley!" She shrieked and started to claw at the collar. Leander didn't miss a beat. He gently pulled her hands away from her neck and had Seph hold them. He muttered something and the collar popped off.

The woman immediately relaxed and her hands slid out of Seph's grip as her eyes closed, "Let's get her to the house." Leander was always ordering people around. If he hadn't been the only reason that Jack was still alive than I would have probably killed him by now.

Jack kept fussing over me while we followed Leander and Linda in Jack's truck to their house. I felt bad for Seph, who had smashed himself against the window to evade my elbow as I kept trying to hit Jake.

Linda's house seemed to loom in the distance, but Seph relaxed visibly at the sight of his home. No sooner had we parked than Hastings was out of Linda's car and carrying the girl inside.

Jack, Seph and I jumped out of the car and trailed behind Linda like she had trained us to. We all sat around Linda's sofa and studied the girl, no, now that I got a better look at her I could tell that she was older than I had thought. She was pretty though and looked to be about Linda's age, but with Enchantresses it was hard to tell. Her hair was blond and her features strangely seraphic.

"She should wake up soon. She just needs to get the poison out of her system. She seems like a fighter."

"She is." Linda said, "She took out a guard that tried to strangle me from behind. She took an antique sword from the wall and ran him thru. It was rather unnerving."

"Should Jack go get Shadowslayer?"

I didn't really think about what I was saying and Linda backhanded me, "Ellen! She's an enchantress not a warrior! We have two wizards and a half here! No one will get hurt." I put a hand to my stinging cheek.

"Sorry." I mumbled halfheartedly and Jack pulled me into his lap. He was really bugging me. Sure I loved him, but he had this freaky nervous habit of comforting himself by obsessively trying to comfort me. "Jack." I said in warning and he let his hands drop from my hair to rest in my lap. I'd trained him well.

The enchantress moaned and opened her eyes. She really was strikingly similar to my imagined version of an angel. Her eyes were a light crystalline blue and her pale blond hair was fanned around her. She looked around the room and sat up, "Where am I?"

Linda put a hand on the Enchantresses arm, "You're safe. You're in my home."

The woman looked Linda over with a sneer, "Are you part of the Trade?"

"No, I helped save you from your owner."

The woman's mannerisms changed, finally she looked grateful, "Thank you so much. Am I really free of the Trade? Am I free?" Linda nodded, "Thank you!" The woman lunged forward and hugged Linda, "You will never know how much this means to me. Thank you!"

Linda carefully extracted herself from the woman's arms, "You're welcome. You're an enchantress, but I don't recognize you."

The woman smiled grimly, "You wouldn't. I was taken when I was eighteen. I'd only known of the Weir for two months. My parents wouldn't have let anyone know who I was any way."

Now I was curious, "Why did your parents not tell you until you were a teenager? You must have been using your gift for a while with out knowing."

She nodded again, "My parents wanted to keep me safe." We all jumped back when she punched her knee, "God! I was such an idiot! It's all my fault. If I'd just listened to my mother, none of this would have happened." She stopped yelling and suddenly looked lost, "Haley? Good God. I left her alone."

The woman looked like she was about to have a panic attack and Leander grabbed her hands to focus her. She stilled and looked into his eyes, "Who is Haley?"

"My daughter."

"I thought you were eighteen when you were taken. Was she the child of one of your owners?"

"God, no! I was eighteen when she was born. She was two months old when I was taken. I was so stupid. I'm sure my mother hates me. I just hope that they didn't find her. God only knows what they would do to her."

"Was she one of the Weir?"

The woman nodded, "I think so. My father couldn't tell what she was, but he was so furious I'm not sure he could think straight. I didn't know how and my mother was too busy trying to heal her."

"What was wrong with her?"

The woman smiled bitterly, "I was an idiot and let a doctor meddle with my baby's insides. Mom couldn't get the gash to close."

Fear hit me, "Where was the incision?"

She furrowed her brow in my direction, "Her chest. It was vertical. Why?"

Jack stiffened and Leander and Linda locked eyes. I just stared and Jack's voice nearly made me scream, "Was the doctor Jessamine Longbranch?"

The woman visibly paled, "Yes. She did something to you too didn't she?"

Jack stood suddenly and deposited me onto the sofa. "Did her wound look like this?" He yanked up his t-shirt to reveal the scar that ran down the top half of his chest, right above his heart and the most important thing to his life, his Weirstone. Linda had taken an infant Jack from his mother to Jessamine because Jack wasn't born with a stone and he was dying. Jessamine had told Linda that she would give him a Wizard stone, which was what his weirbook said he was supposed to be, but Jessamine went behind Linda's back and gave Jack a warrior's stone. Warriors are rare and Jessamine was trying to see if a warrior could be made.

As it is, Jack and I are the last of our kind. I was born a warrior and he was made one. Jack had very little control of the Wizard power that was in his blood, but he had more than Linda or Leander had expected him to have.

Jessamine was sneaky. I loathed her with every part of my soul. She had hurt Jack and now this poor woman's daughter. "We have to find her."

I hadn't realized that I had spoken aloud until Linda spoke, "Which one, Ellen? Longbranch or Haley?"

"Long…"

Jack smoothed his shirt down as he interrupted me, "No, Ellen. I want revenge as much as you do, but we need to find out what Jessamine did to this woman's daughter." The woman looked at him like he was some kind of idol. Jack smiled his goofy grin I loved so much, "I can't believe how rude we are. I'm Jack. The noisy little one is my girlfriend Ellen. We're Warriors. The big wizard is Leander Hastings. Linda is and enchantress, my aunt, and Seph's mom. Seph is also a wizard and Leander and Linda's son. What's your name?"

I couldn't help, but grin. My Jack sure was a charmer. The enchantress seemed enthralled which was funny because…well…she was supposed to be the one enthralling others. She smiled proudly, "My name is Kara. Kara Lynnette Thomas. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

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I tried to explain the thing with Jack and I hope you guys understood at least part of it. :)

The next chapter has yet to be planned so I hope some of you will give me some suggestions. I'd love it!

Thanks,

-Jenn


	5. Vampire?

Hello to all,

It's been forever, so I won't talk much, but to apologize for the lateness of this chapter.

Enjoy!!!

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Dance Five-

Gabriel Cain

As soon as the sun hit the foul smelling humans, Haley gasped, her hand tightened in my fur, yanking the short hairs, "What are you?"

One of the creatures laughed and growled, "Vampires."

I wanted to take Haley from here and never let anything hurt her. Letting her move had been a bad idea. I should never have allowed it. I knew I should have kept her in New York. I was so very very stupid…wait. Did he say vampire?

"Yes, he did." The bronze haired male had just answered a question I had only asked in my head.

"Vampires?" I didn't like that sound of Haley's voice. I nuzzled her hand again, trying to draw her attention away from the creatures, but it seemed to do little to comfort her and she swayed before falling limply backwards. Her head hit the ground with a soft thud.

I pulled myself out of her lap and moved to stand between her and the…vampire's?

"Yes, we are vampires."

I mustered up the best glare my dog form and directed it at the rather annoying male and followed it with a question. _"Can you read my mind?"_

"Yes, I can read your mind."

"_I'm really not going to like you, am I?"_

He smirked, his eyebrows arching regally, "I guess not. Do you know how to shift back to human?"

I growled, he was already pissing me off, _"I can, but I don't really want to. You people smell bad."_

A could imagine a muscle throbbing in his forehead, "We get that a lot. You guys don't like the way we smell and we don't like the way you smell either."

"_You know of others of my kind?"_ He nodded, _"I thought I was the only one."_ I glanced at Haley. She was slumped over on the ground, her head resting on her arm. She was unconscious. I could shift and still keep my secret from her. I'd tried coming to her as a human, but she'd pushed me away, I had been too strange and foreign. The only why I'd been able to get close to her was as her dog.

I backed away from my little human and shifted. As I did so, I moved to stand at my full height.

"Was that thing one of yours?" I demanded. They all just stared at me, gawking and I smirked, repeating my question, "Was it one of yours? I'm not going to ask again."

A tiny little pixie girl stepped forward. She looked eerily familiar, "He was like us, but not one of us. Not one of our family."

"Family?" I looked at Haley with a sense of longing. She wanted a family someday, but she was too afraid. She didn't want to hurt anyone. I wanted to give her that family. I wanted to keep her safe. I wanted to make her happy.

"Yes, we are a family. I'm Alice."

I grinned, "I'm called Gabriel."

Alice smiled, "It's amazing that you have clothes on after you shift. The others can't do that."

I furrowed my brows and plucked at my black t-shirt questioningly. Something she had said drew my attention, "You know what I am?"

Alice looked confused, "Yes, you are a shifter. Kind of like a werewolf."

I blinked several times, "Werewolf? I'd always thought that, but I'd never believed it." I picked Haley up off the ground, holding her in the crook of one arm. She was so tiny compared to me. She moaned and grabbed my shirt, "Why did that thing…err…vampire attack her?"

"He was young. It's hard to control blood-lust when you're young," That was the blond male.

"You look sick." I commented. I tended to say whatever I was thinking when I was in human form because as a dog, I couldn't speak. It got really boring after a while to have no one to talk to.

The blond smiled, but the expression didn't fit right, "Jazz, don't do that when you're stressed. The pup is right, it makes you look sick."

"Pup?" I growled.

Alice smiled cheekily, "Its what we call the boys of the pack. This is my mate, Jasper." She hugged the blond.

"How do I know you won't hurt Haley?" I growled, my jaws clenched.

"Haley? I thought her name was Kara Johnson." That was the big male that had made my human pass out.

I arched an eyebrow at the unconscious girl in my arms, "Her name is Haley Thomas. Her mother was Kara Johnson." Her soft black hair that was splayed over my arm tickled.

I had allowed the bronze haired female to get close enough to touch Haley's black hair. "Does she normally lie?"

"No, never. Haley hated to lie." I looked at her sadly, "She is an honest soul. If she knows that you know her secret than she will be more willing to tell, she's weary of strangers." I squeezed her unconsciously and loosened my grip when she groaned in pain from the pressure, "She's had to change things, I guess." I looked at the bronze haired girl, "What's your name?"

She smiled at me and stated proudly, "Renesmee Cullen." She looked down at Haley, "Why did she have to change things?"

"I won't tell you much. It's not mine to tell. Her grandmother was killed."

Renesmee frowned, "That's sad, but why did she change her name and move?"

"Levi, her grandmother, was the strongest woman I'd ever seen and something ripped her to shreds." Several of the Cullen women gasped, "That's not the worst part. Whatever it was, ripped out Levi's heart and left her bloody remains for her teen-aged granddaughter to find. Luckily a neighbor found her first. Haley would have gone mad had she seen."

Renesmee looked shocked into silence. The brunette female came forward and wrapped her arms around Renesmee. She looked at me with concern, "She's afraid someone is trying to kill her too?"

I nodded stiffly, "She also has been doing some pretty creepy things. The other day, when we left home, we had to take a bus, but the bus driver wouldn't let dogs, me, on. Haley stared him down and asked again and there was this strange friction in the air. I seemed to be the only one to notice, but the bus driver relaxed and then just let me on, no fuss, just sold her the ticket and let us on. Lately, she's been able to get anyone to do anything she asks if she does it a certain way. It's scaring her and then she comes here and kills someone."

"She's human?" The big burly one, that I had determined to be an idiot, said.

"Yes." I growled, tight-lipped. A shiver ran up my spine. It hurt. I clutched my stomach. I had been in animal form too long and it was obvious now that my body liked it best. I couldn't keep my human emotions in check. My body was betraying me, I thought, but when I felt Haley start to wake in my arms, I knew it was trying to protect my investments. Protect Haley. I sat her down, not wanting to be too close to her and injure her, "She calls me Shadow."

I let my body take over. I let the aspects of my mind alter. I was no longer Gabriel, the lost orphan that no one claimed. I was Shadow, my one goal in life was to protect my human.

From the look in the mind reader's eye, he had once felt the way I did. He unconsciously glanced back at the pretty little brunette that looked a lot like Renesmee and was currently hugging her. She was his, and by that glance, she had once been human. She had been human when he had met her. I'm sure that was a long story. One of these days I would get around to asking. I couldn't let Haley leave people that were going to help her.

Alice went with Renesmee to help sit Haley up. She blinked several times and flung her head around wildly. Her eyes stilled on me. They dilated and contracted. The blue in them had turned a pale crystal. She looked even more like the woman in the pictures than usual. Her mom. Yes, she looked like her mother right now. I knew from following her around that Haley had the same blue eyes her mother had had and the same basic heart shaped face with their artistically curved eyebrows and high aristocratic check bones.

Haley's half dyed hair was a small legacy in it's self. Her mother had blond hair, but Haley's hair was naturally raven wing black. A memento from her mysterious father. Everyone in her neighborhood had grown up with Kara and had teased Haley because she didn't know who her father was. Her hair only reminded people that she was an illegitimate child. Levi sympathized and when Haley turned ten, Levi had allowed her to dye her hair blond. The teasing got better then, Haley made friends. Even that idiot girl, Cass, was a relief. Even if she knew nothing about Haley, she was loyal to my human. I was always the silent companion. I followed Haley everywhere and no one ever noticed anything.

That was another thing, I had always gotten the distinct feeling that Levi knew what I was. Late at night, she would tell me stories of Haley and Kara's childhoods. Levi had always been like a mother to me. Even if I had been a dog at the time, she had taken me in and treated me like one of the family. I wanted to be part of Haley's family. One day, I thought to myself, I would be.

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I really hope everyone liked this chapter, I should have loads more time to write starting in May. April was a really bad month, I had just started this chapter, when my grandfather died, and I just realized I hadn't finished this chap this morning. I'm really Sorry!!! Also, summer break is quickly approching, which will give me a ton of extra time to work on my stories. I miss having time to dedicate to all of them, but that's the problem with High School.

Please Review. They make me happy and make me write faster. The faster I write, the faster you all get updates!

I love you guys,

-Jenn


	6. Kiddnapped

Wow...It's been forever, and this chapter is tiny...,but I guess It's better than nothing...right?

I'm going to shut up now. Enjoy!

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Dance Six-

Levi Thomas

Kara wasn't home yet. I'd gotten home from work and her car had been gone. It was well past when she was normally home, and Gerard would be home in a matter of minutes. Something didn't feel right. I'd ask Gerard to help me look for her when he got home.

We were just about to go out the back door when the doorbell rang. I was flooded with relief, it must be Kara, and she must have forgotten her key. Eagerly I opened the door, sliding the safety lock to the left to open it all the way. I froze and my heart skipped a beat, "Hello, we're looking for the parents of a Ms. Kara Thomas."

"I'm Mr. Thomas, this is my wife, Levi Whipple." Gerard said from behind me, "Levi, are you okay?" He whispered into my ear.

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring my husbands grip on my shoulder.

"Well Mrs. Whipple, may we come in?"

I nodded and the two police officers entered my home. They made Gerard and I sit, and I felt sick, "When was the last time you saw your daughter?"

"This morning before I left for work. She was giving Haley, my granddaughter, a bath in the sink. Gerard left a few hours after I did."

My husband nodded, "Kara had just put Haley down for her morning nap when I left. I mentioned she might try going to the grocery store, since she hasn't been out with Haley on her own since she came home. Why are you asking about her? Did something happen?"

"A concerned citizen noticed an infant in your daughter's car, and called the police. The doors were unlocked, but your daughter was nowhere to be found. You said you had a granddaughter?"

I nodded, "Yes, Haley, she's about four months old. Is she alright?"

"Yes, but we found signs of a struggle in and near your daughter's car. We found trace amounts of blood on the hood of the car. We believe that your daughter has been kidnapped." I gasped, and buried my face in Gerard's shoulder. His grip tightened on me, "We believe she's alright, considering the low amounts of blood, it's likely that her attacker knocked her out before taking her. We need to ask, where were you both between one and three?"

"At work." Gerard replied, "I work at the County hospital, and Levi owns a shop in the square. I just got home. Levi was worried about Kara, so we were just about to go looking for her."

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I hope you liked it. I'm sooo sorry for it's shortness and grisly lateness. Next one will be longer and will be out sooner, promise.

-Jenn


	7. Enchanted

Finally! Another chapter (That's actually more than just a few paragraphs)! I'm so sorry for the long wait, life sort of got away from me, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. It's summertime now, so I will have much more time to write until I have to go back to school in the fall. Thank you all for being such faithful readers, and, please, review!

Enjoy!

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Dance Seven-

Ellen Stephenson

Kara was watching Jack as he helped his mom cook dinner. Linda had brought her to stay with Becka and Jack while she checked out Kara's old address. She had been gone for four days now, Seph in tow.

Becka had taken Kara in, hearing her slightly altered story, and the two were close already. Becka would never let Kara cook, saying that she was the guest.

It wasn't unusual for Kara to stare at Jack. In fact, she pretty much stared at him anytime she wasn't talking to someone else. I think while looking at Jack, she was trying to figure out what her daughter was like.

She was really pretty, I almost felt a bit inferior to her. As an enchantress, she looked younger than she was, and her pale blond hair looked perfect with her bright blue eyes. She was wearing a pale purple sweater of Becka's over a tee-shirt of Linda's and a pair of jeans she had borrowed from Linda as well.

I wanted to meet the girl, curious to find out if she was a warrior or not. It would be strange to have another warrior around. It had been Jack and I for so long.

All motion in the house stopped when the sound of Linda's car reached us. Kara bolted from her spot and made it to the door before Jack.

The second I saw Linda's face, I knew the news wasn't going to be good. Linda made us all go back inside, ferrying Kara to Becka's sofa. The blond woman was looking concerned now, anxiety written all over her face. "Linda, what did you find? Did you find them? Are my parents still there?"

Linda shook her head, "Kara, I used every resource available to me, I really did."

Kara groaned, "What are you saying?"

"The address you gave me caught fire last week. The entire house was nearly burnt to the ground. I talked to the sheriff. He said that Levi Whipple's granddaughter Haley died in the fire." Linda took the other woman's shaking hands, "I'm so sorry, Kara."

Kara made a strangled noise, "What about my parents?"

Linda sighed again, "He told me that Gerard Thomas has been missing since a few months after you were kidnapped. He said that Levi told everyone that he was looking for you. No one has seen him since."

"So he could still be out there?" Kara asked, her voice soft. Linda nodded, "What about my mom?"

Linda suddenly looked uncomfortable, "She's dead, Kara. A neighbor found her dead last month in her living room."

Kara shook her head, "What? No? Dead? My mother never got sick! She couldn't have just died!"

"Kara, she didn't. She was murdered." Linda said softly.

Kara paled, and Becka gasped, swooping in on her new friend like I'd seen her yearning to do. "No!" She let out a heartbreaking shout, "I'll kill them. I swear I will! Taking me wasn't bad enough, they had to take my family too?" She sobbed into Becka's shoulder.

Jack pulled Linda into the kitchen, and the rest of us followed, leaving Becka and Kara alone. "Aunt Linda, what happened to her mom? I agree with her, Levi was a sorceress, she wouldn't have just died."

"She didn't. Someone murdered her, like I said. The sheriff told me that it was the most bloody, violent thing he'd seen in years."

"Wizards?"

Linda shook her head, "I don't think so. I got some photos of it, and trust me, not a wizard." She grimaced a bit with that.

I looked back into the living room, Kara was sobbing onto Becka's shoulder still, and Jack's mom had her arms wrapped around the blond woman. "Think she'll be alright?" I asked Linda quietly.

Linda shrugged, "I don't know. That's a lot for anyone to handle. What we need to worry about is finding her father."

"Why?" I asked.

"I looked up on him. He's from a very powerful line of wizards." Linda sighed, "He's a Longbranch, Jessamine's first cousin. He was disowned when he fell in love with a young sorceress. They dropped off the grid after he emptied one of the family bank accounts."

Jack wrinkled his nose, "So Kara is a Longbranch?"

Linda nodded, "Yes, but they'll never acknowledge her, she's an Anawizard Weir."

"Stuck up wizards." I muttered under my breath, just as Leander and Seph walked in the back door.

Lee fixed me with a glare, "I'll ignore that comment." He walked to Linda, planting a kiss on her forehead, "How did it go?"

So, Linda got him and Seph up to speed as Jack and I sat next to each other around the table. "This is bad." Jack said, "If Jessamine experimented on Haley, who's to say she didn't experiment on other children. We need to find them. I was lucky that my body didn't go crazy. Others might not be that lucky. We need to help them. Together, we can make things that could help them control their powers, teach them to fight, to protect themselves."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Leander snapped. He was in a foul mood now; he disliked innocent people being killed.

"Well…I…don't know. Ellen?" He asked, looking at me pathetically.

"There's only one thing we can do…we need to find them. I think it's a good idea to start now." I said, my voice stronger than I felt.

"What about school?" Linda asked, eyeing Jack, Seph and I critically. Since revealing that Seph was her son, she had become horribly protective. She and her sister got along way better now.

Jack shrugged, "What about it? We can always finish down the road."

"That's a bad idea." Linda groused, "What would your mother say?"

"That I should make my own decisions. What about you, Ellen? You're in, aren't you? It was your idea after all." Jack said.

I nodded, "Yes, I'm in. I don't really care about school anymore. I know most of what they teach anyway."

Linda looked at Leander and then Seph helplessly. Seph nodded, he was in, "No, Seph, not you too. No!" Linda seethed.

Seph shrugged, "I have to go, what would Ellen and Jack do without me? They'll need a wizard."

Leander chuckled darkly, "They'll have me. You should stay with Linda and Becka, to protect them."

And then it was a show down, the little Hastings family glaring at one another. Their staring contest was finally interrupted when Linda's phone rang. She groaned, but pulled it out of her pocket, stepping outside.

She came back a few minutes later with a triumphant smile on her face. "Someone just did a search on Haley Thomas. Looks like we're going to Washington."

* * *

Teehee! And so it begins! Back with the Cullens next chapter! If you like my story, please review, I write faster with inspiration!

Review!

-Jenn


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